Loyalty
by jilllovesshakespeare
Summary: What happens when the loyalty to one another, that has always saved the explorers in the past, leads to their demise?


**This is not a happy story. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, the story just evolved that way. Please R&R**

Marguerite watched Roxton. She studied his face. Her hand stoked his cheek gently.

"Wake up, John. Please." The thought of losing him was overwhelming. A tear slid down her face and landed on Roxton's forehead. Slowly, his eyes opened.

"What happened?"

"I thought I'd lost you." Marguerite sobbed. "Don't you remember? You were wounded. Shot." Lord Roxton sat up in his bed. He promptly layed back down, due to the dizziness that hit him when he attempted to sit. "Be careful, you've lost a lot of blood."

"Who shot me." Marguerite hesitated. Would it hurt him too much if he knew? How could she ever tell him something that would cause him so much pain?

"It was Challenger. He was trying to save you."

"I don't understand. Challenger? Save me from whom?"

"From the Raptor. You really don't remember?"

"What happened to him? To everyone?"

"As Challenger was about to shoot the raptor...Ned pushed him. Ned pushed him out of the way because there was an ape-man about to attack him from behind. But the shove affected Challenger's aim and the bullet hit you."

"But, where are they, Marguerite?!" John asked, his tone dire and harsh. Marguerite had never heard him use such a tone before. Could he handle what she was about to say?

"Well, the ape-man took hold of Malone. Veronica ran to help him."

"What happened?! Just tell me!"

"I didn't see what happened next. I ran over to you, when I saw that you'd been shot. I tried to bandage your shoulder but my resources were limited. Then Veronica screamed. I ran over and Ned and Veronica were gone. Challenger lay on the ground lifeless. When Ned shoved him he must have fallen and hit his head on a rock. I brought you back here." John tried to understand. Challenger, who he had sworn to protect, was gone. He had died trying to save him.

"I'm to blame, for all of this."

"No, John. You can't blame yourself for this."

"But, it wasn't just us that lost Challenger. It was the world. Challenger's mind could have helped the world. The world needed him. And now he's gone because he wanted to save me."

"There's nothing you could have done. But we need to focus. We have to find Veronica and Malone, and then we can mourn for Challenger."

"We have to leave now."

"You're injured!" Marguerite's concern for John was growing.

"If we don't go now we might be too late. I will do whatever it takes." Marguerite an Lord Roxton set out into the jungle. Even injured, Roxton's tracking abilities surpassed those of anyone Marguerite had ever known. He crouched down and picked something up. It was Veronica's knife, and it was stained with blood. This wasn't looking good. But they had to be alive they just had to be. They heard a rustling from the Bushes. They ran over.

"Ned!" John exclaimed, aghast at the sight before him. "Ned what happened." Ned was on the ground, his body covered by an ocean of blood.

"The ape-men were killed by a group of men who looked like pirates. We tried to thank them for saving us..." Ned choked out. "But they said they wanted to take Veronica. They said that all the women from their village were dead, and they needed her to save their dying race. They needed her to reproduce. I..." Ned gasped. Trying to continue through the pain. "I lunged at the man who wanted to take her, veronica must have thrown her knife at him at the same time. It hit me. You have to find her."

"It's alright Malone. You're going to be okay. You'll be able to go out and find her yourself within a few days." Marguerite said through tears.

"It's too late. I'm sorry." Ned's eyes closed as he entered eternal sleep.

"Roxton embraced Marguerite who sobbed in his arms. His face was also stained with tears.

Marguerite and Roxton searched for Veronica for nearly a year. Finally one day they happened upon a small clearing which contained a few small buildings. "Has anyone here seen a girl called Veronica."

A decrepit young man came forth.

"She was here. She was to serve as our link to preserving our race. But, she died two weeks ago, while giving birth. The child did not survive either. Our race shall never continue now."

"How did she die?" Marguerite asked, fighting tears.

"She tried to escape from our village, again, while she was just beginning to go into labor. She fell. We could not save her or the child." Marguerite and Roxton wept.

A year later in the tree house

"How's little Ned or Veronica Challenger?" Roxton asked, gently placing his hand on Marguerite's now round stomach.

"Just fine." Marguerite answered, as she gave John a kiss. Life was hard to bear without their friends, but at least they had each other. And soon they would have one more. "John, I still miss them. All of them."

"I know, I feel it too. But we have each other." As soon as he said it, John realized it was true. At least he was not alone. He had his true love. The other's were gone, but they would make sure they were never forgotten. They embraced one another. An embrace which lasted for hours.

This is my first fan fic and I'd really appreciate some constructive comments, but please, nothing flat out mean. I had to write this story write after doing Algebra homework for 3 hours. So criticize if you must, but at least try to do it gently. Hehe. All comments are greatly appreciated.


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